The Royal Air Force's head of recruitment has quit her post in protest over an alleged "pause" in the RAF's acceptance of white male recruits, as the once-glorious fighting force myopically chases far-fetched diversity goals.
As Sky News was first to report:
The senior female officer apparently handed in her notice in recent days amid concerns that any such restrictions on hiring...could undermine the fighting strength of the Royal Air Force (RAF), [defense] sources said.
In putting diversity and inclusion ahead of the need to fill open slots, RAF Air Chief Marshall Sir Mike Wigston is compromising UK national security, the defense sources said.
The Ministry of Defence has set a goal for 30% of all military recruits to be women by 2030, up from 12% today. However, the RAF is shooting for 40% women and 20% ethnic minorities. Women and minorities, however, don't gravitate toward more combat-intensive roles, such as guarding airfields.
"The levels of ambition for ethnic targets...are absolutely crazy," said one source. Another labelled them "impossible." Sky News didn't name the female recruiting officer who turned in her notice, but did say she is a "group captain," equivalent to a colonel in the US Air Force.
One source noted with dismay that the warped priorities come soon after UK army commander General Sir Patrick Sanders warned that current world circumstances present a "1937 moment" for the country.
"Then you look at the head of the RAF and he's prepared to break the operational requirement of the air force just to meet diversity [targets]. I think he needs to be hauled up by the Ministry of Defence and told: This is the defence agenda, get on it," the source said.
The defense sources also decried what they characterized as RAF commander Tigtson's overly-woke agenda, which includes an emphasis on gender-neutral pronouns, eschewing the term "airman," and permitting beards. In 2016 , Wigston authorized and personally conducted a gay marriage ceremony on Cyprus for an RAF enlisted man and his boyfriend.
Reacting to news of the alleged anti-white-male recruiting move, a spokesperson for aspiring prime minister Rishi Sunak told Sky News, "The only thing that should matter in recruitment is the content of your character, not your sex or the colour of your skin. That the Ministry of Defence would allow Britain's security to potentially be put at risk by a drive for so-called 'diversity' is not only disgraceful, it is dangerous."
An RAF spokesperson denied the claims made by Sky News and its multiple defense sources: "There is no pause in Royal Air Force recruitment and no new policy with regards to meeting in-year recruitment requirements," the spokesperson said, while also adding that "we are doing everything we can to encourage recruiting from under-represented groups and ensure we have a diverse workforce."
You know you're in trouble when an official spokesperson refers to the RAF as a "workforce."
The Royal Air Force’s head of recruitment has quit her post in protest over an alleged “pause” in the RAF’s acceptance of white male recruits, as the once-glorious fighting force myopically chases far-fetched diversity goals.
As Sky News was first to report:
The senior female officer apparently handed in her notice in recent days amid concerns that any such restrictions on hiring…could undermine the fighting strength of the Royal Air Force (RAF), [defense] sources said.
In putting diversity and inclusion ahead of the need to fill open slots, RAF Air Chief Marshall Sir Mike Wigston is compromising UK national security, the defense sources said.
The Ministry of Defence has set a goal for 30% of all military recruits to be women by 2030, up from 12% today. However, the RAF is shooting for 40% women and 20% ethnic minorities. Women and minorities, however, don’t gravitate toward more combat-intensive roles, such as guarding airfields.
“The levels of ambition for ethnic targets…are absolutely crazy,” said one source. Another labelled them “impossible.” Sky News didn’t name the female recruiting officer who turned in her notice, but did say she is a “group captain,” equivalent to a colonel in the US Air Force.
One source noted with dismay that the warped priorities come soon after UK army commander General Sir Patrick Sanders warned that current world circumstances present a “1937 moment” for the country.
“Then you look at the head of the RAF and he’s prepared to break the operational requirement of the air force just to meet diversity [targets]. I think he needs to be hauled up by the Ministry of Defence and told: This is the defence agenda, get on it,” the source said.
The defense sources also decried what they characterized as RAF commander Tigtson’s overly-woke agenda, which includes an emphasis on gender-neutral pronouns, eschewing the term “airman,” and permitting beards. In 2016 , Wigston authorized and personally conducted a gay marriage ceremony on Cyprus for an RAF enlisted man and his boyfriend.
Reacting to news of the alleged anti-white-male recruiting move, a spokesperson for aspiring prime minister Rishi Sunak told Sky News, “The only thing that should matter in recruitment is the content of your character, not your sex or the colour of your skin. That the Ministry of Defence would allow Britain’s security to potentially be put at risk by a drive for so-called ‘diversity’ is not only disgraceful, it is dangerous.”
An RAF spokesperson denied the claims made by Sky News and its multiple defense sources: “There is no pause in Royal Air Force recruitment and no new policy with regards to meeting in-year recruitment requirements,” the spokesperson said, while also adding that “we are doing everything we can to encourage recruiting from under-represented groups and ensure we have a diverse workforce.”
You know you’re in trouble when an official spokesperson refers to the RAF as a “workforce.”
